Food & Climate
The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe last week ruled against Katjes’ ‘climate neutral’ fruit gum ad for misleading claims and said companies cannot advertise products as climate-friendly without also explaining why.
The production of the fruit gums was not climate neutral but the firm did finance climate friendly projects.
The Frankfurt-based Central Office for Combating Unfair Competition brought the case against confectionery manufacturer Katjes over an advertisement that appeared in a food industry trade magazine in 2021, according to “DW”.
It said: “Since 2021, Katjes has been producing all products in a climate-neutral manner.”
The production of the fruit gums themselves was not climate-neutral. However, Katjes compensated for the emissions by supporting climate protection projects, which the competition authority considered to be misleading.
While the fruit gum pack showed the web address and a QR code link to Katjes’ partner company that provided information about the scheme, the court deemed that this was not enough.
Presiding judge Thomas Koch said: “An explanation of the term ‘climate neutral’ was necessary here in particular because the reduction and compensation of CO2 emissions are not equivalent measures for achieving climate neutrality.”
“Reduction takes priority over compensation from the point of view of climate protection.”
It seems that the German court intends with this ruling to combat greenwashing practiced by many companies.
In January, the European Parliament passed a law on so-called “greenwashing.”
Under the legislation, slogans such as “environmentally friendly,” “climate neutral” or “biodegradable” should no longer be printed on products without reliable evidence.
Katjes used to appear as environment and people health friend.
For example, the company says on its website: “We want all Katjes flavors to taste as intense and natural as possible. We haven’t used a single drop of artificial food coloring since 1988. Instead, we always use fruit juices, fruit pulp, plant-based or fruit-based color extracts and algae extract. And in 2007, Katjes took the next natural step – and completely stopped using artificial flavors as well”.
“Unlike conventional chocolate, CHOCJES – our vegan chocolate – doesn’t contain any cow’s milk. Which is good news not only for cows and calves, but also for the increasing number of people out there who love chocolate but are lactose-intolerant”.
It is noteworthy that the company had sparked great controversy in 2018 when used of an apparently Muslim woman to sell its new line of vegan chewing gum, according to “DW“.